Helicopter

[Steve M]

I live on the canal road at about Soi 6 on the Petchkasem Road

Every morning from about 7:30 there are helicopters going overhead. I am guessing it is the same one doing repeat trips to the same destination and originates from Hua Hin airport

It heads towards the hills and is only in the morning. There can be up to 12 trips

Anybody any ideas what this can be? (maybe golf transfers?)

[Spitfire]

Could be military, generals like to use them as taxis.

[Nereus]

I live on the canal road at about Soi 6 on the Petchkasem Road

Every morning from about 7:30 there are helicopters going overhead. I am guessing it is the same one doing repeat trips to the same destination and originates from Hua Hin airport

It heads towards the hills and is only in the morning. There can be up to 12 trips

Anybody any ideas what this can be? (maybe golf transfers?)

No, nothing suspicious.

It is the training helicopter (Robinson R22), based at the airport. If you have a spare 17,500 / hour you can try it yourself.

[bozzman101]

pang mak mak !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

can be helecopter man in binty much cheaper.............lol

[usual suspect]

I got a mate in the UK that dreams of flying a Huey..left over from the U.S Vs Far-East 'match'..he flies
V.I.P.s around in one of those fast ones daily and like many Westerners..fancies something alternate over here..any ideas where to get a flight with one..???
(maybe got more chance of doing this in the U.S.)

[Nereus]

I got a mate in the UK that dreams of flying a Huey..left over from the U.S Vs Far-East 'match'..he flies
V.I.P.s around in one of those fast ones daily and like many Westerners..fancies something alternate over here..any ideas where to get a flight with one..???
(maybe got more chance of doing this in the U.S.)

Not much chance if doing it in Thailand I`m afraid. The authorities are paranoid about Helicopters, and who can operate them.
About twenty years ago one of the big private TV / Media moguls had the same type of Helicopter as mentioned above, on traffic reporting in Bangkok. It had to based at an Army base, and could only be flown by Army pilots.

I know of one privately owned small Helicopter in Thailand, and have met the owner. How he is allowed to have it is a state secret!

Both the Police and the Military still operate a few Huey`s here. Maybe he could make a "donation" to one of the General`s Christmas fund, and get a "free" ride!

In the USA it would not raise an eyebrow, no problem!

[Rider]

Did it look like this one by any chance?
One of the place's it 'lives' at is the Army base just north of the Petchkasem Tunnel towards Cha-am.



Great Whirly Bird of the Sky

[STEVE G]

There's sometimes a couple of them down at the Thanarat infantry base on the way to Pranburi as well.
As far as I was able to find out, there are none of them on the Thai civil register.

[usual suspect]

Cheers lads..I'll just E-mail him and say "no chance"..& attatch the pic of the one on Pekky Roadside.. :-)

[PeteC]

Interested in helicopter stories? Get this book at Amazon and elsewhere. You won't be disappointed. Pete

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chickenhawk_%28book%29

[Nereus]

Did it look like this one by any chance?
One of the place's it 'lives' at is the Army base just north of the Petchkasem Tunnel towards Cha-am.



Great Whirly Bird of the Sky

The white coloured machines are usually police helicopters. They now have some up to date modern equipment as well as these old, mostly Bell 212 model, Huey`s.

The following link is the private machine that I mentioned. I have not seen the owner or the machine recently, as the last time I saw him he had it up near Korat. That is the owner dressed in all white, and he goes by the nickname of "whiteman". It is being flown in the video by an expat pilot that was trying to teach the owner. The thing has a Thai registration marking on it, but it is fake. He has another machine there as well which has an "experimental" sticker on it, but that is not officially recognised in Thailand either. What is remarkable about it (apart from the fact that he has it), is that he bought it in as a kit from the USA, and has since replaced the original piston engine with a small gas turbine of German origin.



The Robinson R22 at Hua Hin training school is very similar to this aircraft. Many pictures on the web.

[Nereus]

Interested in helicopter stories? Get this book at Amazon and elsewhere. You won't be disappointed. Pete

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chickenhawk_%28book%29

Yes, read that many years ago, Pete!

One quote in it that has stuck in my mind after all these years refers to when he was learning to fly, and was having trouble trying to hover the machine. Evidently he was darting and diving all over the airport, and the grisly old instructor said: "we will just keep using smaller area`s until you can f----ing do it!"
Having had an ex US military instructor in my early days, I can well relate to that!

[PeteC]

I was headed down the same road four decades ago, even had orders for the Army flight school in Alabama but at the last minute the Flight Surgeon saw something he didn't like in my eye evaluation. Re-examined and a no go. Probably for the best as the pilot survival rate was dismal, and I probably would never have come to Thailand. One of those 'fork in the road' moments which changes everything. Pete

[migrant]

Took a couple lessons in a small two seater. When the instructor let go of the controls I swear I never moved them yet that chopper fell like a brick!!

[Nereus]

I was headed down the same road four decades ago, even had orders for the Army flight school in Alabama but at the last minute the Flight Surgeon saw something he didn't like in my eye evaluation. Re-examined and a no go. Probably for the best as the pilot survival rate was dismal, and I probably would never have come to Thailand. One of those 'fork in the road' moments which changes everything. Pete

Bit of nostalgia from Poppa:
The last Helicopter that I had started life at one of the Army Aviation Flight Schools. Memory waving a bit here, as I am not sure if it was Fort Rucker, or Fort Wolters, and my old log books are in OZ. After surviving that it was bought and operated by Warren City Police in Detroit, Michigan, from whom I acquired it.

Sadly, it met it`s demise in the hands of another pilot, whose ego was bigger than his abilities!

Here we go: (that`s not me!)



http://www.rmauctions.com/CarDetails.cf ... CarID=r156


edit to add link. (x2)